ESPN Men's Basketball

Venoy Overton's off-court behavior caused Washington coach Lorenzo Romar no small amount of consternation and stress this season. Now, even with Overton out of the program, Romar is still dealing with the fallout.

Overton assured as much last week, when he was arrested and charged in Kent, Wash. for allegedly "promoting prostitution." According to police, Overton "directed [his girlfriend] to perform acts of prostitution" as a way to "make easy money." The girl allegedly gave Overton half of her earnings; in exchange, according to the police report, Overton said he would "take care of her once he made it to the NBA."

If the charges are true, this is just the latest head-shaking chapter in Overton's story. And it's one that has Romar -- who joined KJR in Seattle on Monday -- sounding like a disappointed father. From the show transcript:

“[You're] just crushed, disappointed. You know you go through battles that those who play for you and come through your program. And here at the University of Washington we’ve been able to win a lot of those battles together. And this one here was just very disappointing. You’d like to think everyone is going to reach their potential in all aspects, but every once in awhile it doesn’t work that way.” [...]

If Romar in any way questions the way he handled [Overton] as a person and student athlete in light of the recent developments:

“Not with the information that I had at the time, no not at all. With the information I had at the time, I am very much at peace with the decision that was made.”

That suggests that he would have handled him differently had he know some of the things he knows now:

“Things would have been a lot different, yes.”

Romar stuck by Overton during the season, even when Overton appeared to be embroiled in a sex scandal involving a 16-year-old girl. No charges were brought in that case -- witnesses eventually corroborated Overton's story that the sex was consensual -- but Overton was charged with providing alcohol to a minor.

And now, of course, there's this. If there's any relief for Romar, who says he hasn't spoken to Overton during this latest crisis, it's that he seems confident he did everything he could for his former player. Sometimes, that's the best you can do. Sometimes, a second chance is one too many.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Harrison Barnes knew from the first day of practice at North Carolina that you don’t try to get the ball over John Henson without some sort of fake.

“I found out you can’t throw a pass over John or shoot straight over him,’’ said the Carolina freshman of his 6-foot-10 teammate. “John makes basketball-savvy plays.’’

And that’s why the Tar Heels are going to be a tough out for the rest of this tournament.

North Carolina can score at all five positions and the Tar Heels are just as giving in allowing opponents to score. The Tar Heels are the first team since 1990 to advance to the Sweet 16 after allowing over 80 points in its first two games.

But Henson is enough of a difference-maker for the Tar Heels to make up for their often-porous defense.

Washington’s Justin Holiday learned Barnes’ cardinal rule about Henson with six seconds left in Sunday’s East region third-round game in Charlotte. Holiday tried, unsuccessfully, to make an inbounds pass over the top of Henson. His deflection ended up in the hands of UNC's Dexter Strickland, who was fouled and converted two free throws for an 86-83 lead, a score that would hold up and send the Tar Heels into the Sweet 16.

“I was trying to get the ball to Isaiah [Thomas],’’ Holiday said. “I thought he could do something with it.’’

Holiday said he knew about Henson’s length and just didn’t make the right play in trying to throw over the top.

“I was very surprised that he did,’’ Henson said. “I thought it was kind of a bad idea.’’

Holiday’s decision was one of a series of miscues by Washington in the final seconds. Holiday had the ball out of bounds after Venoy Overton drove to the basket and missed. He didn’t have a clear shot at the basket because the Carolina defense came over to help.

“I missed the layup but I was trying to avoid taking a charge and then it was contested,’’ Overton said. “I wish I could take it back and go straight up. I was trying to make an aggressive move.’’

Henson and his frontcourt teammate, 7-foot Tyler Zeller, form an imposing frontline and alter plenty of shots. Washington actually out-rebounded the Tar Heels 40-37 but four blocks by Henson, one by Zeller, and seven steals (three by Barnes), were the kind of key defensive plays that have helped the Tar Heels win games in March.

“A lot of this has to do with our guards getting out and pressuring,’’ Zeller said. “It makes our job easier. John does a great job of blocking shots and if not blocking, altering. He’s great on that baseline inbounds. I’m grateful for him. I don’t know if teams have seen his length before.’’

Washington had another chance to tie the game, but Overton, defended well by Strickland along the sideline, inexplicably hurled up a shot with a second remaining. Overton said he got caught jumping in the air and just threw it up.

“I was anticipating getting fouled,’’ Overton said.

The ball went out of bounds off Henson, though, with 0.5 seconds left. Thomas took his only shot in the final 11 seconds, a 2-pointer at the buzzer that fell short, but wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

“I don’t know, it was Coach’s call,’’ Thomas said as to why he didn’t touch the ball on the last two possessions prior to the shot at the buzzer. “I really couldn’t tell you. I thought the ball would be in my hands. It wasn’t, but that’s not the reason why we lost. It’s very frustrating. I feel like I’m the leader on this team and had confidence in myself and my teammates have confidence in me. I know [Holiday] was trying to get it to me, but Henson got his hands on it and I didn’t get it.’’

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said if he had to do it over again he would want the ball in Thomas’ hands. He said Overton won a game against UCLA by taking the last shot, so he wasn’t against Overton looking to be aggressive, but it was Thomas who made the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Arizona in the Pac-10 tournament.

The Huskies were in a position to win this game, playing the game they wanted.

“That’s what’s disappointing,’’ Romar said. “We do everything we want to do, put yourself in position to win but down the stretch we didn’t get it done.’’

And for all of North Carolina’s defensive lapses, the Tar Heels made the plays that mattered most defensively, and in the end, will head to Newark next week for the Sweet 16.

“This means a lot, we’ve struggled at times, going out of the top 25, getting blown out by 20 against Georgia Tech; it’s been a long season,’’ Barnes said. “There was a lot of talk about lack of experience and age, but we make up for it with heart in the end and find a way to win.’’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In the regular season, Washington was easy to pick apart and poke at, leaving observers wondering whether or not it could truly be a special team in March.

The Huskies demonstrated an inability to win consistently on the road, and at times a failure to win games played below 70 points.

Yet, something has happened with this team when games matter more -- the Huskies seem to play with more purpose.

Washington has become a postseason team, a squad that can suddenly defend when it needs to, board when it has to, and lean on star junior guard Isaiah Thomas to make the big play when he must.

Criticizing the Huskies was fair and justifiable during the regular season. Washington had chances to prove it was an elite team but couldn’t win two games in Maui, lost at Texas A&M and then couldn’t win slow games at Stanford or Oregon State. It even fell apart down the stretch in its usually vaunted homecourt against Washington State and USC.

So why should there have been optimism?

“I just told our guys, ‘Dudes if we don’t win and play well right away, we’re going home,’’’ Thomas said of his pre-Pac-10 tournament conversation.

Well, they must have listened because the Huskies won the automatic berth in thrilling fashion with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Wildcats in the Pac-10 tournament final. Thomas took that shot. He wasn’t in position to take a game-winner against Arizona in Tucson a few weeks earlier as Derrick Williams blocked Washington from a victory.

And then the NCAA tournament selection committee took the No. 7-seeded Huskies and shipped them farther away than any other team when it sent the Seattle-based school to Charlotte to take on nearby No. 10 Georgia.

Yet Washington’s fans seemed to be in greater numbers than Georgia fans, and were certainly louder. And with good reason. Washington played UGA's halfcourt game and beat the Bulldogs by staying strong on the backboard and running the break effectively, earning a 68-65 win and a date with No. 2 seed and hometown favorite North Carolina on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.

“We understand now that we have to play defense to win games,’’ said Washington senior Justin Holiday. “Sometimes we haven’t been as focused on defense toward the end to win games.’’

Thomas said the momentum from the Pac-10 tournament did have an effect on the Huskies’ confidence here. Washington was the aggressor to start the second half after the two teams were tied 28-28 at halftime, the first close half of any of the three previous games in Charlotte on Friday.

“They’re a team that scores in bunches and they know their strength,’’ said Georgia’s Trey Thompkins. “They like to play the game fast-paced. They came down in the second half and started knocking down shots. They were contested. That just shows the quality of shooters and the quality of team that they have.’’

Georgia extended a great deal of respect to Washington on the postgame podium. UGA coach Mark Fox, a former Nevada assistant and head coach, is familiar with UW’s success in the past six years under coach Lorenzo Romar.

“We got the game we wanted, but we didn’t defend well in the second half,’’ Fox said. “We gave up almost 54 percent and didn’t rebound well enough. Even though we got the game we wanted to, you still have to make the plays at both ends and we didn’t do that. It was frustrating.’’

The balance Washington displayed was the reason the Huskies advanced to play the Tar Heels. Aziz N’Diaye, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and a collection of guards led by the recently reinstated Venoy Overton gang rebounded, according to Amaning, in a way that made it harder for the Bulldogs to focus on one player to keep off the glass.

And, of course, when the Huskies needed a big shot they turned to Thomas. He finished with 19 points, seven assists and two turnovers and made all seven free throw attempts.

Now the trick will be how Washington fares against a UNC team that has length and runs as well as any team in the country. The Huskies will get looks but if they don’t knock down shots and get some putbacks, then the Tar Heels certainly could run them out of the building. And this will be a road game for Washington with Carolina blue dominating the arena.

“I think we have a great chance because we like to get up and down,’’ Thomas said. “We both like to play the same style. It’s going to be a great game.’’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Washington has proven to be tournament tough under coach Lorenzo Romar.

The Huskies are suddenly the hot team after winning the Pac-10 tournament, and for the second season in a row -- following a much-maligned regular season -- Washington is poised to make a possible run to the Sweet 16. Washington had to travel further than any other team this weekend and pulled off a 68-65 win over a taller, and what appeared to be a stronger Georgia team.

A year ago, Washington went to San Jose and reached the Sweet 16 in Syracuse. The Huskies haven’t always represented the Pac-10 well in the non-conference the past few seasons, but have found the right mix in the postseason to be quite a pest.

Washington looked like it could have been in trouble early against Georgia and had to scrap for a tie game at the half. But the Huskies were able to use their defense to start the break and continued to be the aggressor at the offensive end as Georgia’s offense sputtered.

Georgia hung tough in the final few minutes, pushing Washington to the final possession and forcing the Huskies to make free throws.

Star player: Washington’s Isaiah Thomas has taken over games in the past month. He took and made the shot to beat Arizona at the buzzer in the Pac-10 tourney final. And it was Thomas who was the difference once again for Washington, making shots to silence Georgia runs and energize the Huskies. He finished with 19 points and seven assists.

Welcome back? Washington’s suspended guard Venoy Overton, who missed the Pac-10 tournament for serving alcohol to a minor, gave the Huskies a stable presence off the bench and scored a key basket in the final two minutes to stretch the lead to 10. Romar said that he was going to use Overton (six points, four rebounds) off the bench and it gave the second unit an infusion.

Key stat: I found it rather odd that Washington was able to win this game despite shooting six more 3s than Georgia. The Bulldogs played smart and kept the game in the half court offensively while the Huskies were jacking up too many shots. A difference for the Huskies ended up being the ability to hang with the Bulldogs on the boards. Washington got spirited rebounding from Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Aziz N'Diaye and to some extent Darnell Gant and Justin Holiday. The Husky guards also rebounded well.

What’s next: Washington plays North Carolina in an intriguing third-round game Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The Huskies would love to run with the Tar Heels. That’s more their game. Sunday's contest has the makings of being similar to the Huskies' close games with Arizona within the past month.

After Washington's Pac-10 semifinal win last night, guard Isaiah Thomas spoke of today's championship game as a chance for revenge against Arizona and a second opportunity to win a conference championship.

The Huskies, the preseason favorites that finished third, desperately want to prove themselves going into the NCAA tournament by defending their Pac-10 tournament title and taking it to the Wildcats after splitting the season series.

With reserve guard Venoy Overton suspended for the entire tournament, it's been Thomas who has played 78 minutes over the past two days and taken it upon himself to get the job done.

"He was going as if he hadn't played any minutes, as if he was fresh," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "He's just doing a great job of leading this team."

Will Washington have enough depth to beat Arizona? Thomas had 10 points and 12 assists, but struggled in going 2-of-11 from the field against Oregon, so he'll need help. The Huskies have also adjusted their lineups depending on the matchup, most recently starting guards C.J. Wilcox and freshman Terrence Ross alongside Thomas.

A game against a deep Arizona team might not be the best matchup for Washington while it runs on fumes. Derrick Williams is coming off another big game, and the Wildcats have begun starting Kevin Parrom while getting good production from Jamelle Horne and freshman Jordin Mayes off the bench against USC.

And Arizona coming off its regular-season title is no less motivated for this game.

"We came here trying to separate our regular-season championship and pursue a quest for the conference tournament championship," coach Sean Miller said. "You have that postseason now, and these guys understand that from this point forward after a lot of hard work and a great regular season that when you lose, you go home."

It's only been his second season, but Washington State coach Ken Bone has already experienced quite a ride since taking over the program. To briefly sum it up, the Cougars had promising 10-2 starts in non-conference play in both seasons, but then finished last in the Pac-10 a year ago and sixth this season by going .500.

There have been glimpses of potential, with the Cougars routing Gonzaga at home and having a nice showing at the Diamond Head Classic (to some extent a five-point loss at home to Kansas State counts). There have been some turns in fortunes, with nagging injuries hurting the team and Klay Thompson and Reggie Moore being busted for marijuana possession in separate incidents which resulted in each being suspended for a game.

Here's how guard Marcus Capers described this season to The Spokesman-Review:

"Ya, it's had its ups and downs," Capers said Wednesday after the Cougars' final pre-Pac-10 Conference tournament workout, a practice delayed because WSU was stuck in Pullman an extra day due to snow and a canceled Tuesday flight.

"I feel we could have done better, but one thing we were constantly struggling (with) was our consistency," said Capers, a junior whose role has been anything but consistent this year, swinging back-and-forth from wing to point depending on Reggie Moore’s health. "When you don’t have consistency, your team is going to be a roller coaster during the season."

That brings us to tonight, as Washington State hopes to make its way off the bubble starting with a win against rival Washington. The Cougars have already swept the regular-season series, and the Huskies will be down a man with reserve guard Venoy Overton getting suspended for the tournament. Bone, a former UW assistant under Lorenzo Romar, knows there are few secrets between these two teams.

The Cougars certainly have the personnel to not only beat the Huskies a third time, but also win the entire tournament. Thompson led the conference in scoring while Moore, who is having an injury-plagued season and is expected to return from an ankle injury, burst onto the scene last season. DeAngelo Casto is a load to handle inside, Capers is a reliable presence, and sixth man Faisal Aden has the ability to provide instant offense.

The issue -- as Capers said -- has been consistency for a program that isn't accustomed to sustaining success like some of the other Pac-10 powers. It has crept up on a day-to-day basis, as Moore and Aden have missed practices battling nagging injuries. There's been a leadership question as well, with Thompson putting himself in a poor position with the marijuana incident and also previously showing up late for the team bus. And as a team, the Cougars have struggled on the road, getting swept by the Los Angeles and Arizona schools.

When will it all come together for the Cougars? The long-term answer remains unclear (as does Thompson's NBA draft decision), but there's plenty of opportunity over the next three days to make a strong statement.

What an awkward and uncomfortable position Washington coach Lorenzo Romar found himself in on Tuesday.

With his inconsistent team preparing for the Pac-10 tournament, Romar learned about an hour before his scheduled weekly news conference that guard Venoy Overton would be charged with providing alcohol to a minor. It was a case that began in January with a sexual assault allegation and has reportedly caused the coach to experience many sleepless nights.

"This has been the toughest year since I've been a coach here, for me," Romar acknowledged. "You have a certain vision and you work hard for your program to be a certain way. You also want the best for your guys and, if something goes wrong and a guy makes a mistake, it's always a setback. You always hate to see that happen. You make mistakes and there are consequences to deal with that."

Washington has downplayed the idea that the Overton case has caused distractions that have resulted in the Pac-10 preseason favorite playing inconsistently and finishing third in the league, and that does make sense.

It was only last week when Romar was telling reporters that the team had lost its identity as a team committed to playing defense. The Huskies haven't quite figured out how to play well away from home, either.

The difference last year was that they played well down the stretch and won the Pac-10 tournament. Heading into this year's tournament, they've lost three of five and now have to deal with the Overton black eye, as he will accompany the team on the trip to Los Angeles and be available for future postseason tournaments.

The Huskies still have the talent to make a run in the NCAAs after returning most of their Sweet 16 team from last year, but the ride to get to this point hasn't been enjoyable for Romar.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- A few quick thoughts following Washington's fairly easy victory against Cal that moved the Huskies back into sole possession of first place in the Pac-10.

• The Huskies are a deep-enough team that they don't need guard Isaiah Thomas to take over the scoring load, but they certainly won't mind it when he does. Not only did Thomas dish out 13 assists on Sunday night, but he also scored 27 points, including 18 in the first half. He also finished 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Huskies offense ran well through him as point guard, as the team shot 42 percent from 3-point range. Thomas hit three of them, and the Huskies extended a 48-33 halftime lead by opening the second half with Justin Holiday hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. With Thomas running the show, Holiday finished with 23 points and Matthew Bryan-Amaning contributed 22. UW shot 52 percent overall and 45 percent from beyond the arc.
• Washington controlled this game all the way through, and it's no coincidence that Bryan-Amaning was playing some of his best basketball. The senior from England had lost his starting job for a time earlier this season, but has since rebounded and played well on both ends of the floor against California, finishing with 11 boards. With Bryan-Amaning and Aziz N'Diaye in the lineup together, the Huskies have one of the more formidable frontcourts in the conference as long as N'Diaye, who fouled out with 8:24 left, learns to stay in the game. The Huskies dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Bears 43-27.
• Washington guard Venoy Overton did not start after getting into the lineup the previous three games with Abdul Gaddy going down with a season-ending injury. Instead, junior Scott Suggs started for the first time in his career after coming off the bench for 68 previous games. Suggs shadowed Jorge Gutierrez, Cal's most dynamic player.
• The Golden Bears are a different team following the transfer of freshman guard Gary Franklin, and the two other guards in Franklin's recruiting class have been directly impacted. Allen Crabbe appears more confident, and he came out firing on the heels of a career-high 30-point performance three days earlier in an overtime win against Washington State. He scored the team's first seven points and finished with 16, including two of them hanging in the air for a reverse layup. Emerson Murray is also playing more in the absence of Franklin, and he had a particularly good moment in the first half, scoring over the 7-footer N'Diaye and getting fouled. Still, the rookie mistakes that come with receiving early playing time are something the Bears are having to overcome.

Check back later in the night for more extensive coverage of UW-Cal, including a video interview with Washington guard Isaiah Thomas.

It was only recently that Washington had a commitment from top recruit Enes Kanter, only to see him renege and sign with Kentucky.

"I de-committed to Washington because bigger programs became interested," he told the Seattle Times.

Ouch.

But today, Washington came up huge in recruiting as well, landing commitments from combo forward Terrence Jones and wing Terrence Ross in a joint press conference today at Jefferson High in Portland, with Jones choosing the Huskies over Kentucky among other schools.

Their arrival on the scene in the Pac-10 makes Washington the easy favorite to win the conference next season, if the Huskies coming off a Sweet 16 appearances weren't already seen as that. And for coach Lorenzo Romar, who received a contract extension this offseason, the balance of power might have shifted toward him in the long term.

An experienced backcourt of Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy is coming back, and now the two Terrences add some star power to a recruiting class that already includes 7-foot junior college center Aziz N'Diaye, who has three years of eligibility left, and forward Desmond Simmons.

Will it be enough to get over the Sweet 16 hump?

It's hard to say, but Washington did just two more big steps forward.

UPDATE: Of course, it's not over until the "T" in Terrence Jones is crossed on that national letter of intent.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Talk inside the Washington locker room after Thursday's upset of Marquette turned to the perception that the Huskies simply aren't all that tough.

The idea that Washington, known out West for playing an in-your-face style of defense at home, somehow is considered more of a finesse team in other parts of the nation is something that has gotten back to the Huskies.

"They talk about how we shouldn't be in this tournament and we're soft," guard Venoy Overton said of the people he called "doubters."

And just in case his Dancin' Dawgs didn't realize this, coach Lorenzo Romar made sure to drill that into their heads for motivational purposes before the NCAA tournament.

"As a coaching staff we can get on our players and talk about 'em, but we don't want anyone else to talk about 'em," Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. "I think our team is a physical team. I think our team goes out and plays a tough brand of basketball.

"We talked about those things. It wasn't like the tough guys [from Marquette] were going to come in and play against the little soft guys. We just wanted to make sure that we knew that was our identity."

The "soft" label is likely a byproduct of being part of a Pac-10 conference that received only two NCAA tournament bids and saw Arizona State and Oregon State lose in the first rounds of the NIT and CBI.

Even the media that covers the conference apparently thinks that while there might be some Tarzans in the conference, they aren't any better than Jayne.

In a recent Oakland Tribune survey of Pac-10 writers, one with tongue planted firmly in cheek predicted Stanford women's basketball star Jayne Appel as the conference's best NBA player in five years. Another wrote down "no one."

And while Washington has the conference's highest-scoring offense, its defense ranks seventh.

But Washington is so good about imposing its will on opponents that numerous Pac-10 coaches have indicated that their chances of taking out the Huskies at Bank of America Arena depend on how tightly the referees call the game.

Letting the Huskies hound the ball doesn't exactly make for a fun evening for opponents, and it was defensive stop after defensive stop that keyed their rally from 15 down against Marquette.

Against New Mexico on Saturday in the second round of the tournament, Overton noted he'd have to pester ball-handlers around the perimeter and help take away the 3-pointer and make the Lobos try to drive the ball. Waiting in the paint would be forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning, the team's tallest player at 6-foot-9.

Told of Overton's comments, New Mexico forward Roman Martinez remained confident in his team.

"We have a lot of guys that can attack the rim, and that's what we've done all year," he said. "I think we're going to be fine with that."

Reputations aren't easy to break, and either way, Washington knows it's representing the Pac-10 in this tournament.

"Whether we like it or not, I think that's what it is," Romar said.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Quincy Pondexter made the game-winning shot after a four-point first half he called "horrible."

How did he turn it around against Marquette? Well, fear can be an incredible motivator.

"The fear of it being my last collegiate game ever, that's really what propelled me to play well," Pondexter said.

His Huskies teammates reminded him during the game of that very fact.

"I told Quincy, 'You don't want this to be your last game, so act like it,'" Isaiah Thomas said.

"I told him, 'If we lose, you're done. Pick it up,'" Venoy Overton said.

And it happened, with Pondexter scoring 14 second-half points, many of them coming while bullying his way into the post. And then, with the ball in his hands at the top of the key and the game tied, Lorenzo Romar gave him a chance by not calling timeout.

"Let your senior have a chance to win it," Romar explained.

Pondexter drove the lane with Jimmy Butler guarding him, went up and under, and hit the shot.

He turned to find his father in the stands after the game and said he thought he saw tears in Roscoe Pondexter's eyes.

With his career so close to ending, Pondexter extended it for at least another night.

The Huskies survived and advanced.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- This one was expected to be close, and hasn't disappointed. Some quick notes:

• Washington guard Isaiah Thomas sank a last-second shot from halfcourt that had no chance of counting since it came well after Marquette had been whistled for a shot-clock violation with 2.6 seconds left. Thomas raised his arms, played to the crowd, and then got another shot. From halfcourt again, he saw his shot hit off the back iron. He still leads all scorers at the half with 17.
• Something to watch in the second half is Huskies guard Venoy Overton's availability. Washington's best on-ball defender picked up his third foul with 3:18 left and was sent to the bench. That could open up 3-pointers for Marquette.
• Marquette has really shut down Washington star Quincy Pondexter, who has four points on 1-for-7 shooting. Pondexter's frustrations might have carried over to the foul line, where he has made only 2 of 6.
• Darius Johnson-Odom is a perfect 4 for 4 from the field and has 13 points for the Golden Eagles, who are shooting 51.7 percent from the field. David Cubillan has nine points.

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times points to this wacky clip of Washington players and even coach Lorenzo Romar moving to Cascada's "Evacuate the Dancefloor."

The game operations crew at Bank of America Arena apparently plays the Dancin' Dawgs video during blowout wins, so take a bow Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Venoy Overton, Justin Holiday, Scott Suggs and Elston Turner, as the Huskies are 14-1 at home this season.

Problem is, Washington is 0-5 on the road and unlike the song, is having trouble cracking the top 40. Also, Montlake Madness thinks the video is "very bad."

The real question is: Do the Huskies have what it takes to get back to the Big Dance? To kick off the second half of the Pac-10 schedule, they host first-place Arizona on Thursday.

LOS ANGELES -- Ben Howland, the son of a Presbyterian minister, said he prayed hard for a game like this one.

UCLA’s coach knows full well that his other methods -- staging extra-punishing practices, relenting on using a zone defense, and publicly expressing at times his embarrassment of the team -- hadn’t worked as well in immediately getting his scuffling team to play up to its potential.

But the Bruins finally got a big win and did it in style, with former walk-on guard Mustafa Abdul-Hamid nailing a jumper at the buzzer to beat defending Pac-10 champion Washington 62-61 on Thursday.

The Den student section mobbed Abdul-Hamid, and Howland hugged and kissed his wife and daughter before walking out of Pauley Pavilion thumbing celebratory tweets into the night. He might have said a few more words before going to bed.

“I have a strong conviction as a Christian, and I’ve been praying a lot for our team and our players as has my wife and my family and her Bible study group and everybody in our church,” Howland said. “It’s all about having faith.”

There are those in Westwood who continue to have an unconditional belief in Howland’s program, but that’s been tested by a team off to an 8-10 start that will likely need a conference tournament title to get to the Big Dance.

For a brief moment, however, magic was made on Nell & John Wooden Court after Washington’s Venoy Overton drove the length of the court for a layup with 3.2 seconds left that put the Huskies up by a point.

A junior guard who wasn’t on scholarship until last year, Abdul-Hamid fired back with a dagger from the left wing. Can one shot change a season?

“I don’t think so,” Abdul-Hamid said. “That shot was a great finish, but that shot was from shooting at practice, from a week of preparation, from freshmen stepping up, from senior leadership.

“We played hard today, and we haven’t always done that.”

UCLA committed 23 turnovers in a loss at Stanford earlier this month, and Howland said the following week that in practice, he counted up the turnovers at the end of practice and had players run based on the total.

The Bruins came out against USC in their next game and lost by 21, their worst showing against their crosstown rival since 1945.

After that one, Howland said he felt embarrassed for the program and essentially apologized to the former UCLA basketball greats who built a program that has 11 national championships.

But for now, the future isn’t worried.

Tyler Lamb, another highly recruited guard who has signed a national letter of intent with UCLA, will enroll in summer school so he can get started early. He loves that Howland preaches defense and has a history of sending players to the NBA.

UCLA starts two freshmen, and Lamb said he’ll have an opportunity for immediate playing time as well. From his talks with current players, he’s actually encouraged.

“They’re not happy with the way things are going, but they believe in the coaches and are following the system,” Lamb said. “Things will turn around.”

OK, so who had Texas Tech undefeated through eight games?

Ummm, nobody?

Pat Knight coached a wonderful game Thursday night in leading the Red Raiders to a 99-92 victory over No. 10 Washington to jump-start the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

Texas Tech’s John Roberson scored 25 points to lead the Red Raiders, who nearly won the game in regulation when Mike Singletary let a 3-pointer fly at the buzzer. The crowd stormed the court but the officials, led by Tom O’Neill, made the right call in sending the game into overtime.

This could have been the perfect way for UW to come back and snuff out the Red Raiders with momentum suddenly back in their favor. But the Raiders followed what was a poised Knight under duress to pull away and outscore the Huskies 19-12 in overtime. Texas Tech looked like it had a ball playing this game, enjoying every minute of it in playing for Knight.

But the questions going forward are these: How will Texas Tech handle the success and can the Red Raiders be a player in a loaded Big 12?

The schedule gets even tougher with TCU and Wichita State on the road next (the latter likely a harder outing than the former), home to an erratic Stanford and then at surging New Mexico to close out the month. If the Red Raiders can survive this stretch with a 3-1 record, they will be on their way toward at least a bubble-bound bid process barring a total collapse in the league. The problem is the schedule doesn’t get any easier. Right before league play begins at Oklahoma State, TTU has to take on Conference USA co-favorite UTEP.

But what we saw Thursday night is a team that won’t quit, will play scrappy and will be a tough out no matter who comes to Lubbock.

What we saw from Washington wasn’t awful, though. The Huskies were playing a true road game, a difficult one and the only one the Huskies will play in the nonconference. Washington plays a neutral site game against Georgetown on Dec. 12 in the Wooden Classic in Anaheim. U-Dub may need to win that game to get something significant on the résumé in the nonconference. A home game against Portland after the matchup with the Hoyas suddenly looks tougher after the Pilots' run to the title game in the 76 Classic in Anaheim.

Washington is still the favorite for the Pac-10 title with Cal fading and facing injury issues. But the Huskies are likely destined for a mediocre seed, even if they were to win the conference title again. The Pac-10 is heading for its worst season in maybe a quarter-century with the possibility that only two or three bids could be had come March.

Senior Quincy Pondexter has matured into a solid leader and was averaging 20 and 11 even prior to Thursday's 31-point performance at TTU. The UW guard play has to be solid with Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy, but making better decisions with passes, having better shot selection and limiting fouls (Gaddy fouled out Thursday) still must happen for the Huskies to become a more dangerous player come March.